Woman loses P10K to fake travel agency

A woman was scammed by an online page posing as a legitimate travel agency.

According to a " 24 Oras report by Raffy Tima on Tuesday, victim Radzma Lacsayao purchased a promo worth P10,000 for three tickets to Zamboanga from a page called “M&M Travel and Tour”.

Initially thinking she saved money from what would have been P30,000 from other agencies, she realized that she had been scammed when she was able to contact the actual agency.

“Kasi bakasyon po, mahal daw talaga ang ticket, nasa P4,000 [o] P5,000 daw ang ticket. One way lang yun… Sinend po naman talaga niya sa akin lahat ng ano, nakita ko naman po naka confirm eh. Sabi ko maraming salamat. Tapos yun, kinabukasan tiningnan ko, hala naka block na ako,” said Lacsayao.

According to travel agency M&M Travel and Tours, Lacsayao wasn’t the only victim of the scam.

“Magkakaiba lang siya sa logo, kulay tsaka yung mga contact number na nakalagay doon. Tsaka yung cover photo sa page ko may ano naman yun… may picture ko. Kasi dapat ganun talaga. Pag legit, dapat may ganun,” said Marjorie D., owner of M&M Travel and Tours.

(We just had different logos, colors and contact numbers. The cover photo on my page has… my photo. Because that’s how it should be. If it’s legit, there should be something like that)

The fake page and contact numbers can no longer be accessed to date.

Meanwhile, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and M&M Travel and Tours urged the public to remain vigilant of deals priced too low.

“Pag sobrang baba, magduda ka na talaga. Pero pag sa limang tinanong mo, pare pareho silang mahal, ayun ang totoo,” said Marjorie.

(If it’s too low, you should be doubtful. If you inquire from five different agencies and they have more or less the same then, that may be the legitimate one.)

DTI also said that a list of accredited travel agencies are available on its website and that of the Department of Tourism. —Jiselle Anne Casucian/LDF, GMA Integrated News